What's the real cost of breeding birds?

[Tim]

Um yes we have zoo's with such programs but if someone wants to breed birds then surely it's better to breed one with a dangerously low population which they can actually increase, rather than breed an already over bred type! That's basically what I'm saying, regardless of who the breeder is, that was my point.

There is usually a good reason that certain birds are scarce in captivity and endangered in the wild. Usually they are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, have very specialized diets, require very specific environments etc. Extra care must be taken when breeding these birds because of the lack of genetic diversity and the risk of inbreeding. When breeding rare species, at a very minimum you should have a degree in Veterinary Science and a specialty in Avian Genetics. Some species are "overbred" because they breed easily in captivity. Again, hand tame birds rarely make good breeders. Breeding a threatened species to create hand-tame babies does nothing for the wild population.

 

[expressmailtome]

Can everyone please be respectful when posting? Everyone should be able to get their point across without being personally insulting. All members have their own point of view and opinions. If you want people to respect your opinions, and actually process what you are saying, do your best to be respectful.

 

[rocky'smom]

ok, I am going to add my here. I was hobby breeder of budgies for a short time. my two raised their first clutch with no problems what so ever. but honey, the 2nd one was all mine, the hen died of egg peritonitis and the male stayed with the eggs until they hatch. he couldn't keep up to feeding 7 little screaming mouths, so I had to help. let me tell you, I couldn't go anyplace, or do a blessed thing, but feed babies, clean up and clean their little box. that feeding every 2 hours for the first week or better you don't have time to breath, little alone clean house, see friends and eating something yourself. then there is them all getting sick, my little charges had yeast infections, vet bills, pharmacy bills, bills for better sterilization of all the feeding equipment, bills for all the cleaning supplies. I lost 3 of them to yeast. the other four were not salable because they never really recovered. I lost each of them to other infections. more bills.
I wait another year before I tried it again. same male, different hen. they did just fine the first clutch, I separated the hen and cock each with four babies once they fledged. the hen was mean to the babies and plucked them bald on their little heads. one was bleeding and another trip to the vet. more money. the 7 that survived were salable but for all the work I only got 25.00. didn't cover the vet bills or my time payable. I raised another clutch that did really well, 6 babies, 20.00 dollars. I lost that hen to a egg that was soft shelled, and she was egg bound. more vet bills.
I tried 2 more times one with super results and the second with horrifying results. babies that were deformed, failure to thrive, more yeast infections, I lost all 8 of them.
the money I made total was measly 85.00 dollars, the money spent was well over 750.00 dollars in vet bills, pharmacy bills, bills for equipment, bills for sterilization equipment, money for a brooder, money for two lost hens, money for cages, money for nest boxes, etc. etc. I got out of the breeding business.

 

[allie136]

Any bird that is not bred under very strict guidelines and conditions (in the place this is going to happen) for reintroduce into the wild is not a candidate for release or repopulation because that bird is psychologically damaged by human intervention. It will never be a candidate and neither will its offspring. You are merely producing damaged product.

I didn't mean breeding them for release back into the wild, I know someone extremely qualified would need to do that. I meant breeding them to be pet birds like the one I saw for sale. Some species are no longer found in the wild but are in captivity, zoo's or as pets which is better than none at all, right? And then if someone qualified wants to try a reintroduction to the wild program, they have some to breed from and use to do that. I will go back and read the link you posted, thank you for that.

I agree with @JLcribber that you sound very young or very ignorant of the situation in the parrot world.

Can you guarantee that none of the birds you breed and sell will end up like this:

Animal Shelter Takes In Animals Seized In Brookline « CBS Pittsburgh

Parrot rescue group receives grant for upgrades - Washington Times

Or hundreds of thousands of others that have ended up in this same situation or dead from neglect and abuse?

Very sad but that's a risk for any breeder of any animal or bird, does it mean there should be no breeders?? You could debate no animal should be kept as a pet, but unless that is a reality there will always be a demand for pets and it's much better on the animals/birds if they can be bred by a caring hobby breeder than in a mill with often terrible conditions.

I'm over 21...I must just sound young because I have only kept small parakeets so don't sound very bird experienced and niave, which I admit. I am learning and will gain experience in time like anyone else, I'm not rushing into breeding I haven't even got a pair of birds yet, then I have to wait for them to be a year old minimum for green cheeked conures to be ready to breed. So that gives me a whole year after I've bought them to be ready for it if I get them as babies. I think people are misunderstanding the time frame, it's a near-future plan not anytime real soon, I want to do the best I can for my birds. Most people on here are against breeding, that's fair enough we can all have our opinions.

There is usually a good reason that certain birds are scarce in captivity and endangered in the wild. Usually they are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity, have very specialized diets, require very specific environments etc. Extra care must be taken when breeding these birds because of the lack of genetic diversity and the risk of inbreeding. When breeding rare species, at a very minimum you should have a degree in Veterinary Science and a specialty in Avian Genetics. Some species are "overbred" because they breed easily in captivity. Again, hand tame birds rarely make good breeders. Breeding a threatened species to create hand-tame babies does nothing for the wild population.

Yes I agree and have said about this above. This parrot type seems to be dying out due to increased predators where they originate.

rocky'smom thanks for sharing your breeding experience, the emotional cost can be so high... I'm sorry you lost your birds. It makes me determined to know everything I can before any egg laying occurs to give them the best chance.

 

[finchly]

There actually are some rare types of birds that are bred by regular people, not at zoos or in labs. These are people who take an interest in that specific species and because they are low in population (say, they're an Australian native bird but there are very few in the U.S.) they breed them. The red siskin comes to mind, but there are others.

 

[SpecialistElbru]

I had a question, what about breeding a type of bird which is a pet but also endangered in the wild? So you would actually be helping continue their species, what do people think about that? I came across a beautiful hand raised tame baby parrot being sold and when the advert said 'rare' I looked it up and they are now critically endangered in the wild, expected to become extinct! So breeding them would be a good thing, surely?

It is very rare that captive bred birds eventually lend there genetics back into the wild. There was one such reintroduction program that was featured in the show "Parrot Confidential". Reintroduction programs like that are so rare because they are so expensive. The programs take many years to do anything significant and it will not get underway unless there is a guarantee that of years of funding (so one million dollars or more to last years). To do this they have to take the source birds that are ineligible for release and have those birds bread to produce the babies that will go back into the wild. The babies must be raised in such a way that are not imprinted on humans. This makes breeding for release a slow process.

Because of this. parrot release programs are limiter by available funds and not on the numbers of birds in captivity.

Another problem is that breeders for the pet trade do not take into account various sub-species of birds. The lesser sulfur crested cockatoo has many sub-species, but pet breeders are only interested in the citron crested sub-species. All other sub-species are bred across and mixed up.

 

[BeakyBird]

First, you have to realize that A) Breeders rarely make good pets and B) Good pets rarely make good breeders. So, If you buy a breeder pair, you should not buy babies. They will see each other as siblings, and be imprinted on humans. They are less likely to want to breed, and even less likely to have the ability to parent their babies. If you must breed, you are better off buying a proven breeding pair and not handling them as pets.

Emotionally--are you OK if the parents decide not to feed their young, or end up killing them? That happens. Would you be ok if YOU accidentally killed a baby bird by giving them formula that was a few degrees too warm? That happens, too.

Each baby will need several vet visits. And you run the risk of the hen having life-threatening emergencies from things like egg binding and yolk peritonitis if you don't provide proper nutrition in the weeks before, during and after she lays a clutch. Do you have a sufficient fund set aside for such veterinary emergencies?

At minimum you will require a temperature and humidity controlled brooder if you want to hand-feed and tame your baby birds. And you must be willing to be able to feed a young bird every two hours around the clock for several weeks.

You summed up all the good and bad in such wonderful language, and simplicity. Thank you. <3

 

[Robin8888]

First, you have to realize that A) Breeders rarely make good pets and B) Good pets rarely make good breeders. So, If you buy a breeder pair, you should not buy babies. They will see each other as siblings, and be imprinted on humans. They are less likely to want to breed, and even less likely to have the ability to parent their babies. If you must breed, you are better off buying a proven breeding pair and not handling them as pets.

Emotionally--are you OK if the parents decide not to feed their young, or end up killing them? That happens. Would you be ok if YOU accidentally killed a baby bird by giving them formula that was a few degrees too warm? That happens, too.

Each baby will need several vet visits. And you run the risk of the hen having life-threatening emergencies from things like egg binding and yolk peritonitis if you don't provide proper nutrition in the weeks before, during and after she lays a clutch. Do you have a sufficient fund set aside for such veterinary emergencies?

At minimum you will require a temperature and humidity controlled brooder if you want to hand-feed and tame your baby birds. And you must be willing to be able to feed a young bird every two hours around the clock for several weeks.

You made some really good points about breeding.
Thanks for sharing.
I have a female that lays eggs so I thought it would be easy to get a male & them breed.
That didn't happen. Not a good idea to mix a pet bird with a breeder. The male got very aggressive with my female & wouldn't let her eat at all.
They did lay eggs but none were fertile.
Pet birds & breeding birds are so different. I found that out.